


Always Darkest Before the Dawn

by JustaSimpleFangirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Kissing, M/M, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, Slow Burn, god so much tenderness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:45:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustaSimpleFangirl/pseuds/JustaSimpleFangirl
Summary: A freshman at the University of Voltron, Keith Kogane is already a little overwhelmed. When he meets Takashi Shirogane, things become even more complicated. Can Keith really balance out college life, helping Shiro overcome his issues while Keith deals with his own?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be really fluffy the first few chapters, but it'll get more intense later on.

A soft sound escaped Keith as he woke up, the morning sun filtering in through the cracks of his blinds. Keith sat up in bed, a hazy feeling passing over him as he rubbed his eyes. It was cold in his room, like it had been since he first moved in not two weeks ago. Keith wanted nothing more then to fall back into bed and sleep. Sleep and not wake up for hours, maybe even days. But instead he got out of bed, and began tugging on his clothes, trying to ignore the fact that they desperately needed to be washed. He really needed to clean his apartment, he hadn't been living there long and already it looked like a garbage dump. Maybe it was just because of how messy a person Keith was. 

Keith grabbed his keys and backpack, stuffing a few things that had been scattered out of it back inside, before he headed outside to his beat up old black truck. As Keith drove to his morning classes, he let out a soft sigh. It was going to be a long day, he could already feel it in his gut. Maybe he should have just stayed in bed after all...

Keith was a freshman at college, majoring in illustration and graphic design, and today was his first day of classes. But he just didn't feel ready in the slightest. Keith's stomach was in knots, and he bit his lip softly as he drove. Thoughts of everything that could go wrong today filled his head and he took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. It didn't work. 

He soon made it to his college, the University of Voltron, parked his car and headed to his drawing class. He made it to the classroom just as the teacher was about to close the door. The teacher gave Keith a disapproving look at the young man's near lateness, but Keith only gave a soft sorry under his breath, and sat down in the only empty seat, one that was at the very edge in the back of the room. As he walked to the seat he noticed who he would be sitting next to. The man looked like more a a jock then an artist, all toned muscle and broad shoulders, and he looked few years older than Keith. Keith noticed he was wearing a long sleeves flannel with leather gloves on both hands, which was a bit strange considering how warm it was today. He had a dark brown undercut hairstyle with a white fridge, a prominent scar across the bridge of his nose, and thoughtful grey eyes. Those eyes glanced at Keith and the man gave a small smile to him, and Keith swore his heart dropped a bit at the sight. 

"Hey..." Keith mumbled, sitting down next to the man. 

"Hello." The man hummed softly, his voice deep and smooth.

"Alright class, let's begin, today you'll be doing something easy. I want you to partner up with someone in the room and draw them for ten minutes. Then switch off and have your partner draw you. I'll be collecting your sketches to analyze your drawing ability." The teacher instructed and people began pairing off. 

A few people glanced back at the man next to Keith and got up, making their way over to him, but the man turned to Keith and smiled sheepishly. "Would you like to be my partner?"

"Um... Sure...." Keith nodded softly, glancing at the people that looked disappointed as they heard the man ask Keith to be his partner. One woman even shot Keith a dirty look, but he just scowled back at her. 

"My name's Takashi Shirogane, but you can just call me Shiro for short." The man, Shiro, said. Keith glanced back at Shiro to see that he was smiling broadly at Keith.

Keith swallowed softly. "I'm Keith Kogane...."

"Nice to meet you Keith." The corners of Shiro's mouth pulled into a kind grin and he offered his hand to Keith. Keith took it and shook it gently. "It's a pleasure."

"I'm sure it is..." Keith gave a lopsided smile and cleared his throat. "So, do you wanna draw me first or can I draw you first?" 

"You can draw me first if you like." 

"Okay sure, thanks." Keith grabbed his sketch book and pencil and turned to face Shiro more clearly. Shiro sat up a bit straighter and smiled softly at Keith. Keith couldn't help but bite his lip nervously. He was going to draw this gorgeous man.... He wasn't sure if he was lucky or not to have someone so attractive to sketch. 

Keith began sketching, glancing up at Shiro ever now and then. He felt awkward as he did so, blushing softly as he examined each of Shiro's features. He found himself a bit mesmerized by Shiro's scar and the way it rested on his face, almost delicately so. 

"Time's up class, switch!" The teacher called out across the classroom. 

"Can I see?" Shiro asked softly. 

"You can see after you finish drawing me." Keith smirked softly. 

Shiro chuckled softly and grabbed his own sketchbook and pencil, beginning to sketch Keith. Keith tried to remain smiling and relaxed as Shiro's eyes glanced up at him with such intensity and thought, as if Shiro was scrutinizing every one of his flaws. It made Keith anxious and he wanted to fidget or look away from Shiro but resisted the urge. After what felt like an eternity the teacher finally alerted them that time was up.

"Can I see now?" Shiro asked again. 

Keith bit his lip softly, tentatively handing Shiro his sketchbook. Keith had done a good job, the attention to Shiro's sharp features were neat and precise, and the shading looked realistic enough. However Keith felt like he just couldn't get the scar right, or the eyes. They were just too...intense to capture properly. 

"Wow...." Shiro muttered. "This is really good Keith."

"Thank you... Can I see your drawing?" Keith said, chewing his lip softly. 

Shiro nodded, handing his sketch book over to Keith. Keith's eyes widened as he looked at the drawing. It looked so realistic, like Keith was staring at a black and white mirror. 

"Holy shit Shiro, this is amazing!" Keith said, much to loudly. A few people turned to look at Keith and he blushed in embarrassment, the heat reaching his ears. "S-Sorry..."

"It's all good, and thank you." Shiro smiled brightly at Keith. Keith blushed a bit brighter because damn, that smile was absolutely stunning. Keith handed Shiro his sketchbook back and looked at his own drawing, frowning at it. He wanted to throw it away but he gently tore it out of his sketchbook and waited for his teacher to come collect it. 

"You're a very good artist Keith." Shiro smiled at the younger. 

"Thanks...." Keith mumbled half heartedly. "You're even better..."

"Not really, I just have a different style then you." Shiro said and when Keith glanced at him he could swear the man was blushing. 

Keith hummed softly and nodded a bit as he looked at the blush spreading over Shiro's cheeks. "Yeah, sure..."

They sat in relative silence for the rest of the class listening to the teacher talk about what to expect from this class, but Shiro would occasionally glance at Keith and Keith would tense and blush whenever he felt Shiro's eyes on him. Keith didn't know why the older was making him so nervous.... Maybe he was just being overly sensitive. 

The class soon ended and Keith gathered up his things and put them in his backpack, heading out of the classroom. He sighed, thankful that he could finally go to his next class where he wouldn't have to feel so awkward around the handsome man next to him. 

"Keith." Shiro's voice reached Keith and he stopped turning to face the man as he came up to Keith. 

"Yeah?" Keith mumbled. 

"You're new here right, um, do you need any help getting to your next class?" Shiro asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Uh..." Keith fidgeted slightly. In all honesty he did need help getting to his next class, the campus being so big and he couldn't really remember where exactly the math section of the university was from the art section. "Yeah, I do actually, thanks...."

Shiro smiled another one of his bright smiles and Keith swallowed thickly. "No problem Keith, where are you heading." 

"Calculus." Keith said, handing Shiro his schedule he'd printed out. 

"Okay cool, follow me." Shiro said, starting to walk. Keith followed, feeling a bit awkward as he walked with the older man. "So, you're an art major?"

"Yeah...." Keith nodded softly, chewing his lip a bit. "What about you?"

"I'm majoring in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology." Shiro said, walking down the paved path that passed by different buildings. 

"What are you taking an art class for?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I wanted to get better at art, maybe become a forensic artist." Shiro shrugged softly. "I'm not really sure what I want to do when I'm out of college, but with a criminal justice degree I'll at least have options."

"True." Keith nodded, shrugging his backpack so it rested more securely on his shoulder. 

"What do you wanna do Keith?" Shiro asked softly. 

"I wanna make comics." Keith gave a soft smile at the thought of his dream. 

"What about?" Shiro tilted his head a bit in question. 

"Gays in space." Keith said flatly. Shiro blushed brightly and stopped walking, Keith stopped as well. "What? Does that upset you?"

"N-No, not at all!" Shiro shook his head quickly. "I'm not homophobic, I'm actually...."

Shiro trailed off and blushed brighter, wetting his lips with his tongue. 

"You're gay?" Keith rose an eyebrow. 

"W-Well kinda, not entirely, I mean I'm just- I'm pansexual." Shiro babbled on and Keith chuckled softly. 

"Relax, it's cool." Keith smirked softly, feeling a bit more at ease with Shiro now. "A few of the characters in my comic are pan."

"Really? A lot of people think it's a fake sexuality..." Shiro mumbled, chewing his lip a bit, his body language changing from laid back to a bit more awkward and nervous, much like Keith had been earlier. 

"I think it's real." Keith smiled at Shiro. They continued walking and soon Shiro stopped in front of a building and smiled down at Keith. 

"This is the math building..." Shiro said, gesturing to the building with his gloved hand. They walked inside and Shiro lead Keith to the room calculus took place in. 

"Thanks again for walking me here." Keith smiled softly at Shiro as they stood outside the classroom. 

"No problem..." Shiro smiled back at Keith, lightly bouncing from one foot to the other. "I'll um... I'll see you around..." 

"Hey wait." Keith gently touched Shiro's chest as he older moved to leave. He pulled out his sketchbook and wrote down his phone number, tearing the scrap of paper out of the sketchbook. "Here...."

Shiro took the scrap of paper and looked at the number, a blush spreading across his face. "Um..."

"If you wanna talk to me outside of drawing class.... And help me look around the campus more..." Keith mumbled, looking away nervously. It wasn't something he did often. He really only had a few friends and even they hadn't gotten his phone number this quickly. But Keith was feeling a bit... Adventurous with Shiro. 

Shiro looked at Keith then back at the piece of paper and smiled softly, the tips of his ears a dark red that matched his cheeks. 

"Okay, yeah..." Shiro nodded, giving a lopsided grin. "I'll text you tonight." 

"Sounds great." Keith smirked softly. 

"I'll see you around then." With that Shiro walled off, glancing back at Keith a couple times as he did so. Keith chuckled softly and blushed a bit as he headed into the classroom. He was glad he hadn't stayed in bed this morning. 

\---

Morning classes turned into evening classes all to slowly and by the time Keith was done for the day he was tired and ready for bed. He crashed down into his bed and groaned softly, too tired to change out of his clothes. Keith's phone dinged and he groaned loudly, digging around in his pocket and pulled it out, opening it and looked at the message. 

'Hey it's Shiro.'

Keith's heartbeat sped up a bit and he flushed softly. Shiro had actually messaged him like he said. Keith lay there looking at the message for a long while before another popped up. 

'This is the right number right? Your handwriting was a little hard to read.'

Keith snapped back to attention and began typing. 

'Yeah, sorry, this is the right number. Sorry my handwriting sucks.' Keith typed. 

'It's all good, how was your first day of classes?' Shiro messaged back. 

'It was.... Tiring, but otherwise good.' Keith sighed softly as he made small talk with Shiro. 

'Haha, I bet, my first day sucked when I was a freshman.' 

'What are you now anyway?' Keith bit his lip softly as he typed. 

'I'm a junior.' Was Shiro's simple reply. 

'Cool, do you like UOV?' Keith sat up in bed and chewed his lip softly. 

'Yeah, it's a really great school. I was a bit surprised when I got in actually.' 

'Same.' Keith messaged remembering how hard it had been to get into the prestigious school, especially with his record. 'I had to put together an entire portfolio and raise my grades a few notches. They almost didn't let me in because I'd been kicked out of school a couple times...'

"You've been kicked out of school?' Keith feel a knot in his stomach settle. Idiot, why had he told Shiro that!?

'Yeah, I have.'

'I got suspended a couple times when I was younger, I was a bit of a trouble maker. I got good grades but my teachers hated me.' Keith's eyes widened as he read. 'The longest suspension I had was two weeks after I got in a fight with some jerk who was picking on my friend.'

'So you were like some valiant knight? Saving the weak from the wicked?' Keith snorted softly at what he was saying but sent it anyway. 

'Not really, I just hate bullies.' 

'Me too.' Keith sighed softly and glanced at his clock. It was only 10:00 pm, he felt like such a loser for being in so early in the night. 'Hey.... Are you doing anything right now?'

'No, why do you ask?' 

'I was just wondering if you'd wanna hang out? We didn't really get to talk that much today and I'd like to see you outside of school too.' Keith blushed brightly before hitting the send button. 

A few moments pasted and then the little dot dot dot sign indicating Shiro was typing popped up, disappeared, and popped up again. Keith bit his lip as he waited for Shiro's response until it finally came. 

'Sure, would you like to come over to my place?' 

'Yeah I'd love to.' Keith sent the message and Shiro sent his address to Keith in response. 'I'll be over in like twenty minutes.'

'Can't wait.'

\---

"Hey!" Shiro greeted Keith cheerfully when he saw the boy at his front door. Shiro was still wearing his long sleeve flannel and gloves Keith noticed, but didn't really care. "Come on in!"

"Thanks." Keith smiled softly, walking into Shiro's apartment. The apartment was quiet large and well furnished, and Keith looked around amazed. Shiro had to be rich, or at the very least come from a rich family with the way his apartment looked. "This place is huge..."

"Yeah, my parents wanted me to have a nice place while I was at college..." Shiro smiled sheepishly. 

"Must be nice..." Keith mumbled, trying to smile at Shiro. Keith had never known his parents, and after years of being passed around in the foster care he'd finally been old enough to get out of the system and live on his own. He'd been working and saving since he was fifteen, and he was still barely able to get into college because of this and he knew he'd be paying off student loans for the rest of his life. 

"Come sit down on the couch, can I get you anything to eat or drink?" Shiro asked, sounding like a hostess more than anything else. 

"Dude I'm fine, just come sit with me." Keith smirked softly, plopping down on the couch. 

Shiro blushed softly and chuckled a bit, sitting down next to Keith. "Sorry my parents always told me to make a guest feel at home."

Keith simply nodded, suddenly feeling nervous as he sat so close to Shiro. 

"You wanna watch tv?" Shiro asked softly. 

"Sure, what do you like to watch?" Keith answered Shiro's question with another question and Shiro grinned. 

"I like to watch things like criminal minds, and criminal investigation documentaries." 

Keith rolled his eyes a bit as Shiro's words. "Could you be any more predictable Mr. Criminal Justice Major."

"Hey I like what I like, that's why I wanna get a job in the field eventually." Shiro said, grinning brightly at Keith. 

"Well lucky for you I don't mind watching criminal minds. Just pick one that isn't too gory." Keith said, making a face at the thought of the carnage they sometimes showed. It reminded him of a kid in his high school art class that would only ever draw guro and gore. It had always freaked Keith out, especially when the guy had started hitting on him. Keith gave a small shiver at the thought as Shiro turned on Netflix and flipped to a random episode of criminal minds. They watched the fist few minutes in silence before Shiro finally spoke up. 

"So... I'd love to hear more about your gays in space comic." 

Keith blushed softly and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, yeah that. It's nothing really, just a project I've been working on since I was like twelve."

"That doesn't sound like nothing if you've been working on it for so long." Shiro rose an eyebrow as he smiled at Keith. "Tell me about it?"

Keith swallowed softly and took a deep breath. "Well basically it's about these five people, and they're all queer in some way shape or form, and they're called paladin's. There's the green paladin, who's a nonbinary lesbian, the yellow who's asexual homoromantic, the blue paladin who's bi, the red paladin who's gay, and the black paladin who's pan. They get recruited from earth to go into space by this lesbian princess and her demisexual right hand man, and help defend the universe using these five hyper advanced robotic lions, and the lions all come together to form this one mecha robot, that fights bad guys and shit. And the main villain is this one group, the Galra, that wants to take over the entire universe, and so the the paladin's are constantly fighting against this group, to keep them from taking over the universe. And the black paladin, has ptsd because he was captured by the Galra at one point, and his lover, the red paladin, but who hasn't been revealed as his lover yet, comes and saves him from the military after he's been returned back to earth. And these other paladin's kinda butt in and help the pan paladin's lover rescue him, and well...."

Keith trailed off and blushed brightly as he realized he'd been babbling about his comic for a long time now. 

"I-It's dumb really, not like anyone would ever wanna see that kinda thing anyway...." 

"It's not dumb." Shiro said, brow furrowed a bit. "I think it sounds amazing."

"It'll never take off, people don't give a shit about LGBTQIA people, they'd never wanna read about us in a comic..." Keith chewed his lip harshly as the words tumbled out of his mouth. 

"Hey." Shiro's hand gently touched Keith's shoulder and Keith looked at the man in front of him. "Don't say that, the world is getting better, people would love to read your comic. I know I would."

Keith felt a blush creeping to his cheeks and looked away quickly. 

"Keith?" Shiro asked softly. "Are you oka-"

"Hey I've seen this episode before!!" Keith shouted suddenly, trying to break away from the awkward situation he'd put himself in. 

"Oh.... Yeah, me too."

They sat in silence once again until Keith's eyes started to feel heavy. It wasn't long before exhaustion took over him and he was asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"-th... Keith?" Keith groaned softly as he felt a gentle hand shaking him awake. "Hey, sorry you fell asleep, I thought I should wake you." 

"Mmmm, Shiro?" Keith mumbled, a sickeningly sweet taste in his mouth as he looked up at the older. 

Shiro was blushing softly and Keith noticed he was leaning against Shiro's shoulder. Keith quickly pulled away, face flushed bright and eyes wide. 

"Keith? You okay?" Shiro asked, looking concerned. 

"Y-Yeah yeah, sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep on you..." Keith swallowed and the sweet taste suddenly turned bitter. 

"It's okay." Shiro smiled softly. "I just wanted to wake you to see if you wanna spend the night. You seem too tired to drive home, I don't want you to get into an accident."

"I-I can drive home, I'll be fine." Keith shook his head a bit, not wanting to impose on Shiro. 

"It's fine really, I don't mind if you stay..." Shiro wetted his lips with his tongue and Keith blushed brighter. "You can take the spare room is you like..." 

"You have a spare room?" Keith furrowed his brow a bit. Just how rich was Shiro's family?

"Yeah..." Shiro nodded softly, letting out a breathy laugh. "It's a bit excessive really... I should get a roommate."

Thoughts crept into Keith's mind of living with Shiro, eating meals with him, working on homework together, sharing a be-

Keith shook his head slightly and bit his lip harshly. "Yeah... I'll keep an eye out if anyone needs a roommate."

Shiro's expression sagged a bit before it bounced back and he smiled at Keith softly. "Thanks Keith."

"No prob bob." Keith gave a lopsided grin.

"Come on, I'll show you to the spare room." Shiro hummed, standing up and walking from the living room down the hallway to the spare bedroom, Keith following close behind. The bedroom was bare, only a couple boxes of stuff, a window, and a bed in the room. "Sorry, it's not really well furnished."

"It's got a bed so it's fine." Keith smiled softly at Shiro before heading to the bed and laid down. 

"I'll go get you a blanket." Keith heard Shiro say as he stared at the ceiling. Keith sat in the silence of the room, vaguely able to hear Shiro shuffling around in his room as the man looked for a blanket. It was a few minutes later that Shiro returned, handing Keith the blanket. 

"Thank you..." Keith mumbled, taking the blanket and wrapped himself up in it. 

"No prob bob." Shiro smiled back at Keith. 

"Good night Shiro..." Keith sighed as he laid down, Shiro heading to the door. 

"Night." Shiro said before the door closed behind him. 

Keith laid in bed, trying not to noticed the way Shiro's scent surrounded him. It was a nice smell, like pine and old books, and something else that Keith couldn't name. He curled up more in the blanket and easily fell asleep. 

\---

Keith woke up and a wave of fear came over him before he remembered that he was at Shiro's apartment.

"Keith!" Keith heard Shiro call through the door and a knock came on it as well. "I'm making breakfast, do you want pancakes or sausage and eggs?"

Keith felt his mouth go dry, but he cleared his throat. "P-Pancakes is fine."

"'Kay!" Shiro's footsteps could be heard walking down the hall, presumably to the kitchen. 

Keith stood up from the bed and took a moment to evaluate his surroundings. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, and Keith stretched, a satisfying crack of his joints made him give a soft moan. Keith walk out of the spare bedroom and went into the kitchen, and what he saw made him flush heavily. Shiro was standing in the kitchen cooking, wearing a wife beater tank top and a pair of loose sweat pants that barely clung to his hips. Keith swallowed thickly before he noticed the metal arm that connected to Shiro's scarred upper bicep. Shiro turned and smiled at Keith. 

"Morning Keith." Shiro smiled at Keith. "Pancakes will be done soon."

"O-Oh... Good morning...." Keith mumbled, trying not no stare at Shiro's prosthetic arm. 

"Come sit down at the table." Shiro hummed, moving the pancakes from the pan to the plates. 

Keith nodded softly, sitting down at the table and chewed his lip softly. Shiro soon came and placed a plate in front of Keith and sat opposite him at the table. 

"Thank you for the meal..." Keith mumbled softly.

"You want any syrup?" Shiro asked, tilting his head a bit in question. 

Keith nodded, thanking Shiro as he passed the syrup to Keith. Keith glanced at Shiro's prosthetic and bit his lip a bit harder as he ate. The question of what happened filled Keith's head but he simply remained silent as he ate. 

"If it bothers you I can put on my flannel..." Shiro muttered. 

"Wh-What? O-Oh no shit I'm sorry, it doesn't bother me, really I was just-" Keith cut himself off and blushed brightly. Damn it, he didn't want to make Shiro uncomfortable in his own home. 

"It's okay, really..." Shiro smiled softly, but it didn't reach his eyes. Shiro got up but Keith grabbed his non prosthetic arm as he walked by. 

"Shiro, I'm sorry, it really doesn't bother me I was just a bit surprised..." Keith looked up at Shiro apologetically. Shiro remained still, looking from Keith to the hand on his arm, Keith's grip firm but not demanding, allowing Shiro to brush it away if he wanted to. "You don't have to get your flannel.... You don't need to hide this from me."

Shiro sucked in a breath and gently touched Keith's hand on his arm. Keith's eyes flicked up from Shiro's hand on his to meet Shiro's eyes. Those intense orbs stared down at Keith and a shiver ran up Keith's spine. 

"Keith I-"

"I should get going." Keith cut Shiro off, looking away and stood up, moving away from the older to the front door. "I have morning classes and still need to change."

"Oh, right okay..." Shiro nodded slightly and Keith bit his lip softly. 

"I'll see you later though.... Right?" Keith asked, looking up at Shiro and blushed softly. 

"Y-Yeah, of course." Shiro nodded, giving another smile, this one seeming more genuine. "I'll talk to you later, and feel free to come over whenever you want."

"Thanks." Keith gave a soft smile and opened the front door. "And thanks again for letting me spend the night." 

"You're welcome anytime." Shiro hummed.

"Okay well... I'll see you later then..." Keith smiled before heading out the door. He headed to his truck and once he was in the safety of his vehicle he let out a long groan. "Dammit.... He probably thinks I'm some kind of judgmental asshole."

Keith sighed and drove off.

\---

Keith sighed softly as he sat in class, trying to focus and failing. He peaked at his phone and bit his lip softly as he noticed only a message from Lance and Pidge in the group chat they were in. He sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket, staring at the teacher as they droned on about some dead writer. 

'Maybe he's mad at me because of this morning....' Keith thought, feeling guilt consume him. 'I made him think I don't accept him....'

The class soon let out and Keith went to his next couple, still hearing no word from Shiro. As the day progressed Keith's guilt and self pity began to consume him more and more. When he finally got back to his one room apartment he flopped down on the bed and sighed. Keith opened the group chat and looked at the messages. 

'I'm so damn bored, classes suck!!' Lance had said earlier in the chat. 

'You always hated classes Lance, college won't change that.' Pidge had typed back. 

'How's college for you Keith?' A message from Hunk read more recently. 

Keith smiled softly and typed back to his friends. 'It's going good.... I miss you guys.'

'We miss you too.' Hunk messaged. 'It's weird not seeing you guys at school everyday.'

'We should all get together and hang out!' Lance typed, always the extrovert.

'Yeah, that could be fun.' Pidge agreed. 

'I don't know....' Kieth typed. 'I have a lot of stuff to work on...'

'Come on Keith, you can't stay holed up in your apartment forever.' Hunk urged. 

'Yeah, you're not a hermit, you're a college student, you should be out having fun, not locked away studying!' Lance messaged. 

Keith let out a soft sigh and began typing. 'Okay.... But not tonight, I'm really tired. How about tomorrow since it'll be Saturday anyway?'

'Yeah, sounds good to me.' Pidge messaged and Lance and Hunk agreed as well. 

'Cool, I'll see you guys then.' Keith smiled softly as he plugged in his phone to the charger and nuzzled against the single blanket on his mattress. 

He ignored the buzzing that went on, knowing it was just his friends messaging each other on the group chat. Keith was tired and ready to sleep, even if his mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable. He was just on the verge of sleep when his phone started buzzing repeatedly, indicating someone was calling him. He groaned softly and grabbed his phone, answering it. 

"Hello???" Keith yawned softly. 

"Oh, shit, sorry did I wake you up?" Keith's heart sped up a bit as he heard Shiro's voice on the other end. 

"N-No no, not at all." Keith shook his head even though Shiro couldn't see it. 

"Okay good..." Shiro mumbled. "Um... I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out again tonight.... I know that it's getting kinda late but I just thought it'd be fun...."

"Um...." Keith reached on the floor and grabbed at the electronic clock he left on the ground. The digital red numbers read 10:48 pm. ".... Sure, do you want me to come over to your place again?"

"If you wanna hang out at your pla-"

"No!" Keith said quickly, chewing his lip as he looked at the mess that was his tiny apartment. 

"Oh.... Okay...." Shiro said softly. 

"I haven't really gotten around to cleaning my place...." Keith mumbled truthfully. "... So I'll be over to your place in a bit?"

"Sounds good." 

"See you soon." Keith smiled softly as he hung up. He searched for a clean shirt and put some deodorant on before heading out, blasting his music as he drove over to Shiro's apartment.

When Keith got to Shiro's apartment he knocked on the door and bit his lip nervously. Shiro opened the door and smiled softly at Keith. 

"Hey, come on in" Shiro greeted, moving to let Keith enter the apartment. Keith walked in and smiled at Shiro. Keith noticed that Shiro was wearing a short sleeve black v neck and tight black jeans. 

"Thank you." Keith smiled softly, glancing back at Shiro as he walked into the apartment, into the living room. Shiro followed him into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Keith. 

"Just so you know it's fine if you spend the night again... If you want." Shiro smiled softly at Keith. 

Keith nodded and smiled back at Shiro warmly. "Yeah, that sounds nice..."

"Coolio!" Shiro beamed and Keith chuckled softly at Shiro's excitement. 

"You must be really lonely if you want me to spend the night." Keith hummed. 

"Maybe a little... It's nice to have someone with me." Shiro smirked softly. Keith blushed a bit at the double meaning. 

"U-Um.... L-Let's wanna watch tv or listen to music or something?" Keith mumbled. Shiro blushed a bit and nodded, turning on the tv and switched to YouTube. He went to his search bar to find music but the recent search showed conspiracy theories and Keith let out a little gasp. "You like conspiracy theories?"

"Yeah, you like them too?" Shiro asked. 

"Hell yeah!" Keith nodded eagerly. "Me and my friend Pidge used to watch them together all the time."

"You wanna watch some?" Shiro smirked softly. 

"Yeah! I'd love to!" Keith smiled happily, trying to keep a cap on his excitement. 

Shiro chuckled softly and flipped through some conspiracy theories before Keith made him stop on one he hadn't seen before. They turned it on and it began. The person on the tv who was talking about the theories was relatively attractive and Keith was engrossed by the topic. However when Keith glanced back at Shiro he saw that Shiro's intense eyes were looking at him. 

"Wh-What...?" Keith mumbled. 

Shiro blinked, as if noticing himself that he'd been staring and blushed. "N-Nothing, um, do you want a drink or something? I've got beer or soda or whatever."

"Beer sounds nice." Keith smiled softly. 

"Cool, I'll be right back." Shiro got up and went into the kitchen. He returned, a beer in each hand and handed one to Keith. 

"Thanks." Keith smiled, popping the top and took a quick sip. "So... You're over twenty one?"

Shiro laughed softly. "I actually just turned twenty one a couple months ago."

"Cool, cool..." Keith nodded, feeling a bit nervous. 

"You okay? You seem tense."

"I'm fine, just... You know I'm nineteen right?" Keith mumbled, putting the can down on the coffee table. 

"Yeah, I assumed since you're a freshman." Shiro smirked softly. "I used to drink when I was a freshman too, better to do it here then at a party and get in trouble."

Keith relaxed a bit and smiled softly. "Cool..."

Shirk smiled softly and hummed as he used his prosthetic arm to sip his beer. Keith got a good look at it and bit his lip softly. 

"That looks really high tech." Keith mumbled offhandedly. 

"Yep, state of the art, best kind money can buy." Shiro nodded, smiling softly, but chose to look at the person on tv rather then Keith. "It moves almost exactly like my normal arm would have. It's some new tech prototype."

"That's really cool." Keith hummed, feeling a bit more at ease and genuinely interested in what Shiro had to say about himself. 

Shiro shrugged and glanced at Keith with a wry smirk. "It's not really that great when it comes to romance."

Keith blinked in surprised at the sudden admission, and blushed. "O-Oh...."

Shiro chuckled mirthlessly and took another swig of his beer. 

".... I don't think it should really matter. Prosthetic or not, you're still really attractive." Keith mumbled. 

"Am I?" Shiro smirked and Keith was suddenly hyper aware of how close Shiro was to him. 

"Y-Yes..." Keith nodded, a blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks. 

"... I think you're really attractive too..." Shiro said, taking another sip of his beer before putting it down on the coffee table next to Keith's. 

Keith swallowed thickly and scooted a bit closer to Shiro despite his nervousness. Their thighs brushed and Shiro looked at Keith, intense eyes boring into Keith's. Keith bit his lip as he stared at Shiro for a long few seconds before glancing down at Shiro's lips. Before Keith could glance back up at Shiro's eyes the older man had leaned in and was kissing him deeply, Keith gasping softly as Shiro's hands went into his dark hair. It took Keith a second to realize what was happening and when he did he kissed back eagerly. They kissed for a long few moments before they both had to pull away and gasp for breath. 

"Sh-Shiro...." Keith mumbled, breathing slightly labored and pupils wide. "Wh-What are you... What are we d-doing?"

"Kissing." Shiro mumbled, eyes hooded, as he gently stroked Keith's cheek with his non bionic thumb. "Do you not like it? We can stop if you want." 

"No no, I-I don't wanna stop I'm just...." Keith blushed softly. "We barely know each other, and I wanna get to know each other more before we...."

Keith trailed off, looking away in embarrassment.

Shiro chuckled softly and nuzzled Keith's neck gently. "I understand, I'm not going to make you do anything you're uncomfortable with. I just... I think you're really cool and I wanted to kiss you a little." 

Keith hummed softly, eyes fluttering shut as Shiro kissed his neck, soon starting to nip gently at Keith's flesh. "Sh-Shiro..."

"Does that feel good?" Shiro mumbled softly against Keith's skin.

"Yes..." Keith hissed softly. "Feels really good Shiro...." 

Keith could feel Shiro smirk against his skin as he pressed a gentle kiss to Keith's collarbone. Shiro looked at Keith and smiled as he leaned in and kissed the younger's lips, sucking gently on Keith's lower lip. Keith opened his mouth, allowing Shiro to slip his tongue inside. Keith let out a soft moan as he felt Shiro's hands move onto his hips.

"Wait...." Keith mumbled, pulling away a bit. Shiro moved his hands off Keith's hips and moved a way a bit as well, giving Keith some space. "Sorry, I just think we should stop for now."

"I understand, you don't need to apologize." Shiro smiled warmly at Keith. 

Keith felt his heart jump into his throat and wetted his lip with his tongue. Shiro was really amazing... "Thanks Shiro."

Shiro leaned in and kissed Keith's forehead gently. "No need to thank me either, I just want you to feel comfortable." 

Keith blushed brightly, nuzzled against Shiro, resting his head in the crook of Shiro's neck. 

"Wanna watch another conspiracy theory?" Shiro asked softly, and Keith nodded slightly. Shiro flipped through some of the conspiracy theories and started up a random one, Keith smiling contently.

As the conspiracy theory played Keith began to feel himself growing more and more tired. He sighed softly and nuzzled against Shiro gently, letting his eyes slip shut, falling asleep.

\----

Keith woke up the next morning to the feeling of a warm body next to him, a slight ache in his neck, and his phone buzzing violently in his pocket. Keith groaned softly as he pulled away from the body next to him, rubbing his neck to try and get the ache to go away. Keith glanced and saw Shiro next to him, sitting up and sleeping soundly, face looking slightly younger as he slept. Keith smiled softly and kissed his cheek before pulling his phone out. Keith's eyes widened a bit when he noticed seven new calls from Lance, and half a dozen new text messages. 

'Hey I need to talk to you.' At 8:24 am

'We need to talk asap.' At 8:51 am

'Pick up your phone dude.' At 9:00 am

'Pick up your phone dumbass.' At 9:12 am

'Come on man I know you're up.' At 9:15 am

'Pick up!' At 9:17 am was the most recent, only a few seconds old. 

Keith got up and walked into the kitchen, not wanting to wake Shiro as he called Lance back, worry gripping him. The phone rang only once before Lance picked up. 

"It's about damn time! Why the hell weren't you picking up!?" Lance voice came from the other end. 

"Sorry sorry, I was sleeping." Keith said guiltily. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but Pidge has been on my ass about you."

"Wha? Why?" Keith asked furrowing his brow. 

"They're worried about you, they think you're... You know, isolating yourself like you did in high school..." Lance voice turned to a mumbled as he spoke. 

Keith scowled softly. "Why would they think that...?"

"Well...." Lance cleared his throat a bit. "You didn't wanna go out with us, and we aren't there to hang out with you so I'm guessing you haven't really been hanging out with anyone-"

"I have to been hanging out with people!" Keith snapped defensively. 

"Oh yeah? Who?" Lance asked. 

"This guy I met in my drawing class, his name's Shiro, and we've been hanging out lot..." Keith bit his lip. Honestly hanging out with someone two days in a row and spending the night at their house both times was spending a lot of time with someone, at least for Keith. "He's really cool and sweet..."

"Oh???" Keith could practically hear the smirk on Lance's face. "Could it be you like this Shiro guy?"

"So what if I do...." Keith mumbled. 

"You should bring him out with us on Saturday, it could be a lot of fun!" Lance said cheerfully. "And maybe I'll swoop in and steal him from you if I like him enough."

"Shut up Lance..." Keith blushed softly. 

"But really, I'm glad you're getting out there and talking to people... I'll tell Pidge so they don't worry." Lance hummed. 

"Thanks...." Keith mumbled. "I'll talk to you later."

"Oki doki, talk to you later!" Lance chirped before the line went dead. Keith sighed softly as he put his phone back in his pocket. 

"Who was that?" Keith nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Shiro's voice cut through the silence. Keith blushed brightly, turning to see Shiro smiling sheepishly back at him. "Sorry didn't mean to startle you?"

"I-It's okay, I thought you were still sleeping, did I wake you?" Keith mumbled, going over to Shiro and kissed him gently. 

"Mmm, yeah but it's alright, I needed to get ready for the day anyway." Shiro smiled lazily as he wrapped his arms around Keith's waist, nuzzling the boy gently. Keith blushed, embarrassed at the affection but didn't pull away from it. "You didn't tell me who you were talking to..."

"Just my friend Lance." Keith mumbled, kissing Shiro's neck, Shiro humming softly at the kisses. 

"What did he want?" Shiro asked as Keith began nibbling Shiro's collarbone. 

"Hmmm? Oh, he's just worried about me..." Keith sighed softly, nuzzling Shiro gently. "Hey do you wanna go out with me and some friends tonight?"

Shiro blinked in surprise as he looked down at Keith. "You want to introduce me to your friends?" 

"W-Well, yeah, I mean..." Keith blushed softly, looking away. "You don't have to if you don't want..." 

"No, I'd love to meet them!" Shiro cupped Keith's face in his hands, making the younger man look at him. Keith blushed as he looked into Shiro's eyes. "I just.... What are we exactly?"

Keith was surprised by Shiro's question, and bit his lip softly. "Um... What do you want us to be?" 

"I don't know...." Shiro's shrugged softly, taking his hands off Keith's face. "I know I like kissing you, so goes that make us... Boyfriends?"

"How about for now we're just... Friends... Who make out sometimes? A-And see where it goes from there?" Keith asked sheepishly.

"Sure." Shiro smiled softly. "I can agree to that... You wanna make out a little right now?" 

Keith blushed and nodded softly, leaning up and kissed Shiro deeply. This seemed like the start of something very good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things escalated quickly...

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update every week to every two weeks. Idk I'm bad at updating.


End file.
